Humanists encourage discussion and the use of evidence and reason, not dogma, in solving problems. This means that humanists do not necessarily agree on everything. Articles on this web site and speakers at meetings do not necessarily represent anyone else's opinion.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has voted strongly in favour of taking abortion out of criminal law right across the UK. Currently, under an 1861 law, if women have an abortion outside of circumstances that are legally permitted, they can face up to life imprisonment. In Britain, this means failing to comply […]

In a statement at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Humanists UK has joined various states in expressing concern at the growing marginalisation of religious, non-religious, and LGBT minorities in Indonesia. Despite having long accommodated a variety of different religion and belief communities, atheists are not legally recognised in […]

The leader of Lancashire County Council Geoff Driver has submitted a proposal to ban halal meat that has not been pre-stunned before slaughter from being served in the county’s schools, after it has been revealed that twenty-seven schools with a total of 12,000 pupils across the county are serving all pupils meat from suppliers where […]

Humanists UK has criticised the UK Government’s plans to end limits on religious discrimination in state school admissions during a speech at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The statement was made during a debate on the UNHRC’s universal periodic review of the UK, which took place in May […]

In a landmark ruling in the Court of Protection, life-prolonging care can be withdrawn from patients who are minimally conscious or in a permanent vegetative state if both the doctors and family agree that it is in their best interests, without the intervention of a court being required. Humanists UK welcomes this decision, which places […]

With the news replete with stories of humanists and freethinkers killed and persecuted for ‘blasphemy’ around the world, Alex Sinclair-Lack asks ‘How candid can I be about my beliefs’? All humanists must grapple with the question of when it is appropriate to tell people that you don’t believe in their god, and when, if ever, […]

Last week, the Archbishop of York criticised the National Trust and Cadbury for dropping the word ‘Easter’ from the name of their annual egg hunt. This prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to take time out of her visit to the Middle East to state: ‘I think the stance they have taken is absolutely ridiculous.’ Here […]

Heroes are not the stuff of myth: they keep us safe each and every day It’s normal when confronted by horrific events someplace in the world to feel a mixture of emotions. Grief, for the victims whose stories you have read about in the papers. Anger, for the fact that such a tragedy could be […]

Young Humanists is the section of the BHA specifically for humanists aged 18-35. It runs a regular Twitter debate once a month using the hashtag #YHDebate. March’s debate took the form of an ‘ask me anything’ (AMA) with Imtiaz Shams, a BHA trustee who is also the co-founder of Faith to Faithless, which provides support and […]

As a charity that operates within the field of religion and belief, the BHA’s work on education issues tends to be associated most with its campaigning on ‘faith’ schools and against the various freedoms to discriminate along religious lines that they enjoy. What we are less well-known for, perhaps, is our decades of campaigning around […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. Dearest Internet. I have found that the maxim “you just can’t win” holds up remarkably well. It turns out that by merely pointing out the fact that some person holds some opinion about some thing, one has therefore implicitly endorsed that opinion—on b […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. As a short, awkward, nerdy aspie with no interest in sports, there have been few American institutions that I feel more alienated by than the National Football League. The grandiose NFL logo and the iconography of its franchises have always been, to me […]

I recently acquired an old sarsaparilla bottle, its label stating that it was intended for medical treatment of such diseases as “chronic rheumatism,” “obstinate cutaneous eruptions,” and “syphilitic conditions.” It was to be used orally, not topically. Yes, this is the same sarsaparilla long used as an herbal tea and tonic that evolved into a health drink b […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. It’s safe to go to Brigham Young University now. They’re letting in Coke and Pepsi. At Wired, Michelle Dean has a big story on what is a surprising degree of drama and stress (financial, personal, political, etc.) behind the scenes at Snopes. In this s […]

As of this writing, Hurricane Maria continues to pound the Caribbean (and Puerto Rico specifically). As The New York Times reported, “Daybreak in Puerto Rico on Thursday exposed the crushing devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria - splintered homes, crumbled balconies, uprooted trees and floodwaters coursing through streets. The storm cut a path through the […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. Our boss, Robyn Blumner, is in Geneva for the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council, and yesterday she delivered an excellent statement on the persecution of atheists in Malaysia. (Don’t let yourself be distracted by the incredibly orange and fea […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. The Earth continues to writhe. More than 200 people are killed in the devastation of a 7.1-magnitude earthquake across central Mexico. Joshua Partlow at the Washington Post reports: Marisela Avila Gomez, 58, was in her apartment in the capital’s cent […]

You may have heard the news—or at least the joke: there were more clowns than usual in the nation’s capital over the weekend. As Newsweek reported, “Among the thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Washington DC Saturday, some certainly did not look like your average demonstrators. Dressed in creepy clown garb and some sporting punk haircuts, app […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. Check out this fascinating presentation on the Gnostic gospels, given by the wicked-smart Cynthia Grzywinski, who also happens to be my mom. (And introduced with a poem read by my college acting professor, the wicked-awesome Pam Hendrick.) Neil deGrass […]

The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities. Kimberly Winston, reporting on an Annenberg study, writes an excellent and accurate lede for some ugly news. Emphasis mine: Nearly 1 in 5 Americans incorrectly believe that Muslim citizens don’t have the same First Amendment rights as other American ci […]

Simon Nightingale, Chair of Shropshire Humanist Group, spoke on BBC Radio Shropshire’s Sunday morning “Faith and Ethics” program. He talked on the sin of certainty, referring to Stephen Cherry’s most interesting and witty book “The Dark Side of the Soul”. He also talked about the humanist show garden that won a trophy and top gold medal at Shrewsbury Flower Show, and about humanist books in schools.

As Simon mentioned on the show, he will be giving a public talk on Humanism at the Engaging Issues Forum in Church Stretton on 29th November. For more information, please visit our blog post on the talk.

Humanists believe one can lead a good life and be a good person without religion. The British Humanist Association with the “happy humanist” logo is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.

Dr Nightingale, a retired consultant neurologist from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, has been working for humanism for some years, conducting humanist funerals and weddings. He is the humanist representative on the Shrewsbury SACRE – the Local Authority committee that oversees Religious Education and Collective Worship in our Shropshire state schools and is the humanist representative on the Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals Chaplaincy Committee and a member of Shrewsbury Interfaith Forum. Currently he is chair of the Shropshire Humanist Group.

Dr Nightingale says: “I am grateful for the opportunity to explain the basis of humanism and, in particular, to address some of the myths, for example that humanists are anti-religious; not at all, we are non-religious which is very different and indeed we support the rights of those with faith to live as they wish and we collaborate with other religions and interfaith groups, such as The Jubilee Debt Campaign to promote values we share with most moderate religions. Or that living without religion leaves a moral vacuum, or that we are moral relativists and believe that “anything goes”; on the contrary we have strong moral beliefs based on normative ethics and our innate moral instincts. Or that humanists are devoid of any spiritual sense and that their lives are without meaning – I will also show that is far from true”.

The talk is for anyone interested in humanism, whether or not they call themselves a humanist. For example, those who believe that it is possible to lead a good life and be a good person without religion may find areas of common interest. Those with religious faith who are interested in learning more about a rapidly growing, influential non-religious world view are most welcome. Teachers involved with Religious Education may find the talk helpful and informative.

In our Aprl meeting on Thursday 21 April we shall follow this up with a discussion.